Stepping Stones
by Decidedly Odd
Summary: 50 sentences of Roy x Winry: Well, that was unexpected.


_Stepping Stones_

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**Fandom: **FullMetal Alchemist

**Pairing: **Roy x Winry

**Theme set: **Epsilon

**Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer:** All rights belong to the creator of FMA. I own nothing!

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#40 - History

It is strange how one singular event can determine the course of two individuals' lives, even though they have never met.

#08 - Thousand

During the war, Roy had calmly incinerated at least a thousand people - he was a soldier and it was his duty.

#13 - Change

Then he shot two innocent doctors and the whole world went mad (he was murderer, murderer, _murderer_. . .)

#38 – Wash

No amount of water could clean his hands of blood.

#19 - Soul

If you were to ask him, Roy would tell you that he didn't have a soul anymore.

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#12 - Wait

During her parent's absence, Winry passed the time by running wild with the Elric brothers and experimenting on automail.

#33 - Never

She was only vaguely aware of the war in Ishbal; it had not occurred to her that she might never see her parents again.

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#20 - Picture

When the door opened Roy recognized her right away—he had memorized her picture: blonde, beaming, blood-spattered.

#30 - Ghost

He killed her parents, but she was the ghost that haunted him—a gawky, gangly little girl with gold hair and frightened, accusing eyes.

#03 – Young

When he met Edward Elric's eyes and saw an old soul gazing out at him despite the young exterior, he thought: _here is someone I can use._

#47 - Harm

But as he coerced Edward Elric into becoming a state alchemist, Roy felt a twinge of regret—he had already taken so much from her, and now he was going to take the rest of her family too?

#26 - Goodbye

Roy hoped that their paths would never cross again—things always seemed to end badly for her when they did.

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#37 - Time

Seasons passed, enough for Winry to grow up and for Roy to grow lonely.

#28 - Fortune

One overcast spring day, they literally ran into each other on a crowded street; it was either a cliché or fate.

#17 - Vision

Roy blinked and shook his head, wondering if something was wrong with his eyes.

#24 - Now

They had seen each other on several occasions in the past, mostly because of Fullmetal—but back then she had still been a child; now no one could say that of her.

#05 - Wrong

"Would you like to join me for lunch?" Roy asked before he had time to think about it.

#27 - Hide

Winry said yes and then immediately regretted it—was it too late crawl under a rock?

#18 - Attention

At first, Winry was as stiff as a soldier under inspection and Roy talked too much to compensate for her silence—but they could not take their eyes off of one another.

#32 - Eyes

By all rights she should have hated him—he murdered her parents—but Edward admired him, he had saved her life once . . . and he had gorgeous dark eyes.

#39 – Torn

When he was still a faceless murderer she could loathe him with impunity; when she actually met her parents' killer and discovered he was a good man, her hatred had faded to resignation and quiet acceptance—but to be attracted to him?

#02 - Cool

When Roy noticed her shiver he stood without a word and draped his jacket over her shoulders.

#06 - Gentle

As their meal progressed, Winry realized that he was clever, charming, courteous; all the qualities of a seasoned rake—but he was also kind . . . and sincere.

#22 - Mad

Winry could not believe her train of thought, and she hastily reminded herself that he was a notorious womanizer and she was hopelessly devoted to Edward.

#42 - Bother

Thoughts of Edward only aroused intense irritation; she had come to Central in order to hunt the idiot down and perform maintenance on his automail, but she really didn't feel like going anywhere at the moment.

#25 - Shadow

"I have to leave," Winry finally said, after they had been in the restaurant for hours and the day was drawing to a close.

#46 - Drive

Mustang stood and proffered an arm, "Would you like a lift back to your hotel?"

#29 – Safe

"Thank you, but no."

#14 – Command

"You can give my driver the address."

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#11 – Blur

Winry spent most of the ride watching the streets go by and trying not to think of the fact that his thigh was pressed against hers.

#36 – Stop

"Here we are," Roy said as he stepped out of the car and held the door open for her.

#04 – Last

This was, Winry believed, the last time she would ever see him again—so if there was anything she wanted to say she had better say it now.

#48 - Precious

_I forgive you_—Winry was surprised by how easily the words slid off her tongue; she was even more surprised to realize that she meant them.

#45 – Naked

"Say that again," he gasped, his formidable defenses stripped away by three small words.

#15 – Hold

Before she could even open her mouth she found herself enveloped in a bone crushing embrace; it was rather mortifying, and just a little bit endearing.

#35 – Sudden

Well, that was unexpected.

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#16 - Need

Winry never did get around to seeing Ed; she figured that if he needed her, he would come looking.

#49 – Hunger

But she did see quite a bit of Roy; they met for lunch three days in a row, then four, then five—and then one day Roy didn't show up and Winry realized that it wasn't the café's chocolate gateau she craved.

#44 – Wall

When he showed up at her apartment (so new it still smelled of paint and she was using a refrigerator box as a table) wearing a sheepish grin and holding up a bag of take-out, Winry had to lean against the wall for support as her knees buckled.

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#41 – Power

Roy wondered why Winry had the ability to affect him so very deeply; he was fascinated by her expressions; he delighted in making her smile, laugh, blush - and they hadn't even kissed yet.

#07 – One

She had never been kissed before, so he felt both proud and possessive as he trailed his mouth over her closed eyelids, elegant cheekbones, slightly parted lips.

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#01 - Motion

Winry could never seem to keep still around him - her eyes, her lips, her hips were always in motion.

#23 - Child

She nagged like a spinster and was a veritable sage of all things technological (whereas Roy could barely look at a fountain pen without it bursting all over his gloves), but when it came to romance she was still an innocent . . .

#09 - King

So Roy magnanimously took it upon himself to educate her.

#31 - Book

And luckily for the two of them, this endeavor required quite a bit of hands-on instruction; not everything could be learned from books, although there were a few that came with rather enlightening illustrations.

#10 - Learn  
Winry, who had been rifling through Roy's rather impressive library, nearly screamed when he glanced over her shoulder and asked her which one she wanted to try first.

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#43 - God  
"Oh, god," Winry gasped, her entire being straining towards nirvana . . .

#21 - Fool  
"My name is Roy," the smartass was unable to resist remarking afterward.

#50 - Believe  
"Well," Winry murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck, "I think I've just found religion."

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#34 - Sing  
Roy had never been good at getting up in the morning, so when he was awakened at a disgustingly early hour by the sound of Winry singing in the bathroom, he was content to lie there and listen and wait for her to come back to bed.


End file.
